Spieth admits ‘maybe’ he should not have got involved in McIlroy rules debate

Jordan Spieth admitted that he should not have got involved in the long drawn-out, and painful rules debate that took place involving Rory McIlroy on day one of the Players Championship. We know that McIlroy’s tee shot at the par-4 seventh hole hit a bank down the left side of the fairway and kicked straight left into the water. While McIlroy elected to have a rules official look at where he should take his penalty drop, Spieth and Hovland came across the fairway to weigh in their opinions on where the ball crossed the hazard line.

It was the second time that McIlroy had put a tee shot into the water having done so on the 18th earlier that day although Spieth was not fully content with where McIlroy took his drop from. Anyway, here was the sight and sounds down the left side of the seventh hole of Spieth making, and what can only be described, a real nuisance of himself in a rules matter that he should have played no part. The discussion went on for some 12-minutes and really no thanks to Spieth who seemingly had a continuing bone to pick with McIlroy after what transpired earlier at the 18th hole.

What was clear is that McIlroy’s ball took a bounce atop of the mound and also left of the left fairway bunker on seven, and then kicked left into the water. The question being raised: did McIlroy’s ball land outside the red-marked hazard line or left and inside the line? If his ball had pitched well down the slope and left of the hazard line, as Spieth and Hovland seemed to be insisting, then you would not have seen it pitch in the air from the right side of the fairway as TV footage had shown it had.

Spieth conveniently dodged waiting media after Thursday’s round but did not escape the scribes on day two following scores of 74 and 72 for a two-over tally and certain to miss the cut when the second round is officially competed early Saturday Florida time.

Here is the exchange Spieth had with the accredited Players Championship media – you will find Speith’s admission he should not have been involved in the penultimate sentence of the transcript.

Q. We didn’t get a chance to ask you, but your version of what happened on the seventh hole yesterday from your point of view?

JORDAN SPIETH: I thought it ended up in a good spot. I only walked over there because I thought he had dropped it, and then he was questioning where he was dropping it.

So I was just trying to make sure he didn’t play it and everyone was good. I was good with the spot he was choosing.

Then I was just listening to the conversation of Rory and Viktor, and Rory had said, I think it’s — we think it crossed up there, could have been back there, so this seems like somewhere in between.

But then that sounds like something you probably should verify with a rules official, and then he did, and it was all good.

Q. You said people had said to you the ball had bounced below the red line?

JORDAN SPIETH: Well, the thing is you’re not really supposed to use anyone from the outside to say it, but I was hearing from like TV members, so I thought it was — I told him when we walked off the tee that they had said that, and I said, I couldn’t tell because I thought it was going to land so much further that it surprised me where it dropped, so I didn’t actually see and it was close.

So I thought it was important to say that honestly so that he didn’t — they said it certainly hit above, Rory and Harry.

Because of that, I was like, why don’t you just make sure in case they caught it.

A lot of times you have an overhead, but maybe not on Thursday and Friday.

Q. Did the 18th hole situation play into the seventh hole?

JORDAN SPIETH: I mean, every situation like that is their own. They’re not like the same shots by any means.

Look, I think all anybody wants is for you to put the ball where it should go, and in our sport you just get — especially on a golf course like this or last week, you get some situations where it can be really tricky on knowing for sure.

You normally err on the safe side and then you pick where you’re virtually certain where it did cross, and I think that’s what Rory chose both times.

Q. Certainly from Rory’s point of view —

JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, I don’t know why I got brought over to media, to be honest.

Q. Just to be clear.

JORDAN SPIETH: But I get it’s me and Rory, but that kind of conversation probably happened a dozen times yesterday in groups.

Again, it was like Viktor was having the conversation, and I only walked over because it seemed like, hey, let’s just make sure everything is all right, which I wasn’t even planning on getting involved and maybe I shouldn’t have, but it seemed like they were maybe at a sticking point.

So I thought maybe I could help.

Jo